The Week of Too Much Medical Stuff

I have been dreading this week, and yet, here we are!  

Time slows down for no mom.

I should make that into a sign.

On Wednesday, I will have my yearly physical, and even though I love my doctor and would love any chance to chat with him, nobody likes a physical, right?  I told myself back in August that I would start eating really clean in order to bring the numbers on the scale and on my lipid screen down, but alas, I am still eating ice cream and pizza as of yesterday.   What can I do in the next two days to undo what I’ve done for the last 363?  Lots of water, protein, fruits and veggies and nothing else.  I’m hoping that will somehow make a difference, but I know it doesn’t work like that!

On Thursday, Maggie has her surgery.  Poor girl.  She is getting her auricular pit removed and closed up, and also her tonsils removed and possibly adenoids too.  We are going to Boston Children’s Hospital so she is in grrrreat hands, but surgery is surgery and it’s a 2 hour one with a 2 week recovery.  Maggie is sad to be missing school for two weeks, but we are very hopeful that these surgeries will mean an end to the antibiotic train she has been riding for the past few years with recurring strep and an infection in her “ear hole”.  She mentioned recently that she is going to ask for a new robe for her 11th birthday in December, so I got her a new one now so that she can have as comfy a recovery as possible.  I'm sure her Dad will be getting her some flowers, since flowers make everything better :)

We are grateful that this is an in/out same day surgery and that my parents live downstairs and will be taking over her care starting at Day 5.  Her school will send homework via her brothers, and she will be able to stay up to date that way. We are heading to Confession tonight, Adoration tomorrow night, and therefore I think we have all the spiritual bases covered.  If you could spare a prayer for my Maggie in the Middle, it would be much appreciated.  Kelly’s son, Fulton, could also use some recovery prayers.  Thank you! 

In Good Times and In Bad

Growing up, I looooooooved babies.  I was obsessed with babies, always trying to hold any I could get my hands on.  After hearing about my sister's medical school experiences, I dreamed of volunteering in a hospital to hold the babies who were born addicted to substances.  I babysat, worked in a daycare, and talked about how I hoped to have 12 kids one day.  I eventually grew up and met Phil, knew I wanted to have HIS babies, told him about my plans for a dozen kids, which he was cool with (!), and then we got married and started Natural Family Planning. 

Why would we use NFP when we wanted a huge family, you might be asking?  Because I had just graduated with my MBA and didn't have a real job yet and Phil was about to start his Masters Program.  We still knew we wanted lots of babies, but just not quite yet.  It actually bothered me a lot that we couldn't start our family right away, that was the point of marriage, right?  I couldn't wait to become a mom!  We figured we would try to wait a year and then Phil would be finished with his Masters and would be able to get a job. 

If You're Worried About What Your Family is Seeing Online...

...join the club ;)

We don't send our little kids out into the world alone, so why would we send our big kids out into the online world alone?  We have a lot of rules in place in our home for screen time, and make sure screens are only accessible in family living areas, but for every other scenario, we turn to Covenant Eyes for help.  

I've written about why we started using Covenant Eyes here, and it's been an awesome addition for our family safety and holiness goals.  It does cost $15.99 per month for a family subscription, but it buys peace of mind.  Sites that could be dangerous are blocked, and each user's history is tracked and reported weekly to the main account holder(s).  Just knowing that we are all accountable for our online actions is a major win in preventing things like porn addiction.  We are not naive, we read the stats and see the results of teens on screens (we both work in a high school) and we know the dangers.  We have been entrusted these seven souls that we are called to protect and nurture, and Covenant Eyes helps us in this technological world.  

I'll be writing more about this topic later, but for now, if having kids search the internet causes worries for you, just get it.  I really don't think you'll regret it.

It's All About the Children

And since I have seven lovely cherubs, I am linking this family update up with Kelly and her 7 Quick Takes.  Happy Friyay!!

The Catholic School Crew 18-19

Should we go Oldest to Youngest, or Youngest to Oldest?  I'm someone who always lists my kids ages from oldest to youngest (yesterday I heard a mom say her kids were 1, 3 and 4, and thought "I would have said they were 4, 3 and 1") so Oldest to Youngest it is...